


That's why Ravka all sing: Nikolai is our King

by OttoVonNeindrei



Category: Nikolai Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Comedy, Comic, English is not my first language have mercy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-12 23:14:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21234176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OttoVonNeindrei/pseuds/OttoVonNeindrei
Summary: - Is this a challenge, Commander Nazyalensky?- Whatever, Your Highness. I was saying, if I understand correctly, that a room is needed for ...- I accept! - Nikolai banged his fist on the table.- ... you what?- I accept your challenge, commander.





	That's why Ravka all sing: Nikolai is our King

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Scommesse e magnolie](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21156311) by [OttoVonNeindrei](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OttoVonNeindrei/pseuds/OttoVonNeindrei). 

> If you are reading the Grisha Trilogy, SPOILERS AHEAD. One single spoiler if you haven't read "King of Scars".  
English is not my first language, so I really don't know if "comic" is the story's genre or my bad english... Hope you enjoy!

While waiting in the council chamber, Zoya searched the map for Karilingrad, the city where they would be heading the next day. She found it, not far from the coast, in a region of Ravka partly spared from the Darkling war. Duke Kristoff, coal mine magnate and great friend of Nicolaes Couckebacker, a member of the Kerch Merchant Council, ruled it.  
Nikolai still claimed to have chosen the merchant only for the homonymy, but Zoya approved of this alliance attempt: Ravka still needed the Council's money, before the kingdom could move again on its own legs.  
She looked up when the door opened revealing Nikolai, followed by David and Genya. Tamar and Tolya closed the queue, blocking the door behind them.  
Zoya got up from her chair and bowed slightly in Nikolai's direction.  
\- Commander Nazyalensky, such formalities. Someone might really believe that I'm the rightful ruler of Ravka. But let's not waste time, the departure is tomorrow morning. So, Vasili Kristoff, war hero, does not miss that much my exiled father but is an old-fashioned gentleman: pride, strength, hunting, old trophies hanging on the walls, plenty of children and manly handshakes. Then we have Couckebacker, his great friend and our main goal. David.  
David, with a... shameful look? pulled a book out of his bag and placed it in the middle of the table. Zoya caught the word "Wind" on the cover for a moment, written in appropriately fluttering characters.  
\- Yes, ahem, if you come closer you can see from this page the prototype, here below "Second Chapter". Genya, I've already told you that I'm sorry. – David interrupted himself because of the way his wife looked at him.  
Under the pencil drawings, everybody could see that what David put on the table was not a sketchbook but a book. If in the first pages the drawings were in the white frame around the written part, as the book went on they had conquered the whole sheet, making the underlying words unreadable.  
While David explained the propulsion system of a ship that was able to travel completely submerged under water, Genya mumbled things like "the one in Sankti only knows how many miles, and who knows if they still print it despite the war", until Tamar bent down towards her and said: - No problem, if you ever want to read it again you can have my copy.  
Nikolai, intent on listening to David's explanation of how to channel the power of a _squaller_ to ventilate the submerged rooms, turned to Genya and added: - There is also mine, it’s the illustrated edition. Intentionally illustrated, not by David. No offense, I find that these sketches are really well made.  
\- Thanks, sire.  
Zoya then realized that the one on the table was a book that Genya had been carrying everywhere for a few days, _Warm Wind in the trees _or something like that. She had not yet been able to understand the plot, beyond the fact that there was a love triangle, too many adjectives and definitely too many tigers.  
She saw it the last time when Genya gave it to David with a dreamy look and told him: - If you want to understand your wife's heart a little more, read it.  
Evidently David preferred his wife's heart decorated with images of submarines.  
Zoya grinned. - From the little I read, I believe that David has significantly improved the quality of the content.  
\- Commander Nazyalensky! - Nikolai had a shocked tone. - _Fiery and Passionate wind under the magnolias_ \- "Ah, that's what it was called" - is a book of rare sensitivity. I believe each of us can find himself similar to naive Dorothy, protective Norman or mysterious Terence. Although I haven't decided yet whether I'm more Norman or Terence. Genya, what do you think?  
Genya was about to answer, but Zoya interrupted them with a wave of her hand.  
\- Please excuse me, ambitious Terence ...  
\- Mysterious Terence.  
\- It. Is. Not. Important.  
\- Because ambitious is Lukas, the ruthless Fjerdan captain of vessel.  
Zoya was beginning to feel the urge to hurl a gust of wind at the table.  
\- Couldn't you read some diplomacy books instead of filling your head with this stuff? And if you really can't help it, it doesn't seem like the best time to talk about it.  
\- I don't understand what problems you have with _Passionate Wind_, Zoya. - Nikolai stared at her with a genuinely perplexed face. So genuine it was obviously fake.  
\- I wish there were only one problem with this kind of books, there are at least a hundred. And the hundredth of the problems in this book ...  
\- Without the explanation of the other ninety-nine I won’t sleep at night.  
\- ... these sentences are faaaar away from reality, nobody talks like that!  
\- Look, if you talk about ... - Nikolai flipped halfway through the book - "Your voice says no, but your body betrays you " I heard it at least five times in real life. Also "Bring 12 bouquets of red roses in the tigers’ room". By the way, I said the tigers’ one.  
Genya and Tamar stifled a laugh. Zoya took the book from the table and reopened it to the pages covered by David's drawings.  
\- Let's stop here, otherwise you'll soon be telling us that in this book there are the right words to get Duke Kristoff to marry our cause. So, David, the propulsion system.  
\- Is this a challenge, Commander Nazyalensky?  
\- Whatever, Your Highness. I was saying, if I understand correctly, that a room is needed for ...  
\- I accept! - Nikolai banged his fist on the table.  
\- ... you what?  
\- I accept your challenge, commander.  
Zoya looked at him. - My _challenge_?  
\- During the next four days I will use quotes from the masterpiece here to win the sympathy of Duke Kristoff and his good friend Couckebacker.  
\- Your Highness, if we could go back to the purpose of this meeting...  
\- Shush, the puropose of this meeting is to make our visit to Karilingrad a success. I will conquer our guests' wallets with our submarine ships, but it will be with the sweet words of Terence that I will break into their hearts. Only one thing remains to be done, to establish the rules!  
After a few months as a personal guard, Zoya had noticed how Nikolai never went beyond five minutes when it came to joking. Once that limit was over, he was absolutely convinced of what he was saying.  
\- There is no bet. - she said, trying to keep her voice calm.  
\- Commander! A bit of anarchy on frivolous business is welcome, but here we are talking about a bet between gentlemen. The bet will consist of different degrees of difficulty.  
\- Can someone in this room help me stop him? Anyone?  
\- The degree of difficulty will increase at midnight, up to the maximum level on our last day in Karilingrad, the fourth. The first level of difficulty will be a trivial quote, something that anyone could say in everyday life, only a few words. For the last level I will have to recreate an entire situation written in the book. Any questions?  
Genya, Tamar and Tolya nodded, David looked politely puzzled. Zoya felt her temples throbbing.  
\- Then it's done. Objections?  
\- I don't think it's a very clever idea to mix a bet on a romance novel with a diplomatic mission.  
Zoya wanted to hug David, but Nikolai didn't stop.  
\- The sentences will have to sound natural in the speech, and I cannot say something like "I read in _Fiery and Passionate wind under the magnolias_ that ...". If I manage to complete the four days of quotations, commander Nazyalensky will grant me a gift.  
\- Get you out of this room still walking on your legs?  
\- I ask for less. Or more, depending on how you look at it.  
\- A lock of her hair!  
Everyone turned to Tolya, who tried in vain to make himself small. - Terence says it in the fifth chapter, when he has to say goodbye to Dorothy and fight with his bare hands against the fearsome warrior Shu Jeon-Wu, called The Rattlesnake. - muttered as an apology.  
\- I knew you read it! - exclaimed Tamar with a giant smile.  
\- Could anyone in this room at least pretend to be deciding on the fate of a kingdom? Ravka is not a game! - the words came out of Zoya's mouth in a, she hoped, imperious tone. Finally, silence fell in the room.  
\- Zoya is right, that's enough. - Nikolai assumed a more serious expression. - Whoever holds the lives of other people in his hands has a burden on him, you will forgive me if I try to be light sometimes.  
Zoya was almost struck by Nikolai's surrender: he sat down and went on to explain the underwater ship project with David's help.  
The meeting ended at dinner time.  
Genya whispered something to David and stood by the door, waiting for Zoya.  
\- I'm sorry I can't travel with you tomorrow, but it shouldn't be such a dangerous mission. Don't forget this. - she gave to Zoya the copy of _Passionate wind_ with David’s drawings. - From page 75.  
Zoya nodded.  
That evening, before going to bed and getting ready for departure, she wanted to look again at the mechanism that allowed the submarine to have fresh air even staying under water for hours. She opened the book at the page marked by Genya.  
_\- Norman, you're no longer the cheerful boy who ran with me in the peach fields on my father's plantations. Did they steal your smile in exchange for your education, in the corridors of the University of Ketterdam?_  
_\- Dorothy, my sweet friend, I have seen things in my travels that I would like to forget, but now they are etched in my memory forever. Don't look for them, don't let them out, I don't want to contaminate you with my misfortunes, promise me to always be the sweet, carefree, cheerful girl who placed daisies crowns on my head._  
\- Oh Norman, so you were pretending when you playfully picked me up for a pirouette this morning and, like children, we spent hours laughing and giving breadcrumbs to pigeons?  
\- I would never lie to you, Dorothy, but whoever holds the lives of other people in his hands has a burden on him, you will forgive me if I try to be light sometimes.  
Zoya slammed the book on the floor.  
\- I'll kill him.  
  
FIRST DAY  
  
Letting him ride was the right thing to do. After all, his army loved him because he had never been locked up in an elegant carriage while the others marched. It was less right that she couldn’t stop him from talking.  
Nikolai was marching alongside some soldiers. In particular, he was listening to a girl born somewhere near Karilingrad.  
\- ... we were lucky with the war, but I couldn’t just stay there and do nothing when Ravka was being devoured by darkness. As soon as I could I went to enlist. I believe I wanted to do something heroic. I had heard that Sankta Alina was also an orphan and had joined the army ...  
Not all stories were true when soldiers talked to Nikolai. A needy family or the impending war often turned into Unconditional Love for the Homeland. But Nikolai always managed somehow to listen and answer with something meaningful. It was one of the reasons why it was necessary for him to spend time with the soldiers. And for which Zoya felt a little less strong the urge to punch him in the stomach when her sovereign added, in a slightly higher voice: - How can we hear the sparrows singing in the woods if someone, when they are born, tells them that they are merciless hawks?  
\- I know it is a selfish thought, my king, but perhaps there are some sparrows that prefer to be hawks. - the soldier girl answered, leaving Nikolai silent (for some seconds).  
Zoya did nothing to hide a triumphant smile, still on her face when she approached Nikolai.  
\- Your Majesty, we are about to arrive at Duke Kristoff’s villa, we must return to the front. And that sentence was " something that anyone could say in everyday life "? - she added in a lower voice.  
\- The war has hardened you, commander. I was inspired by the majestic forest around us. You should listen more to the voice of your heart.  
\- If I listened to the voice of my heart you would be bound and gagged in the carriage, Your Majesty.  
\- Like Norman captured by a ferocious gang of criminals in Ketterdam, while trying to recover the parchment that would have revealed the truth about his lineage. In any case, the previous sentence was not from _Passionate Wind_.  
\- ...what?  
\- The bet will start as soon as we arrive, meaning ... now. - Nikolai pointed to the horizon, where they began to see a big iron gate and, behind the gate, a paved avenue that led to a large villa.  
Duke Kristoff was waiting for them outside his villa, together with family and servants.  
Zoya felt a shiver run down her spine.  
  
\- Gentlemen, I believe it’s time for a toast. Your Majesty!  
Zoya had yet another heart stroke. She gave Nikolai a pleading look.  
Her king stood up, regal and impeccable, and elegantly took the goblet of red wine in his gloved hand.  
\- Duke Kristoff, Duchess Ekatarina, all of you present. A year ago, it wouldn’t have been possible to think of a similar banquet. Ravka is rising again, and I am sure that celebrating does not lack respect for the many who perished. On the contrary, it allows us to thank them because their sacrifice has led to our peace. – he paused because applause had risen from the room. - And I tell you, if time has dressed us with fears, I hope at least that the wine tonight will strip us of a little shame.  
Zoya squeezed her fork so tightly that the delicate silver of the handle folded.  
\- To peace, to happiness, to Ravka!  
An even louder applause than the first one started from the table and Nikolai clinked his own glass against those of Duke, Duchess and countless guests.  
Zoya had to wait for the end of the first courses and the service of blini in the garden to get Nikolai again. She took him aside, only to regret it immediately because they had ended up under a magnolia.  
\- If this charade doesn't end immediately I’ll strangle you, Nikolai.  
\- Your Majesty.  
\- Forgive me, - Zoya hissed at him behind a false smile, - you may soon have difficulty breathing, Your Majesty.  
\- Here, much better. A trivial murder would be so vulgar. A regicide, instead ...  
Nikolai was giving crumbles of his blini to the swans in the garden.  
\- At least that was a quote from the book.  
\- You should read it, commander, for your peace of heart. And also, to enrich your soul, of course.  
\- Tellmethatitwasfromthebook. - Zoya shot Nikolai one last chilling glance, but then she stood aside smiling because the Duke and a group of people were approaching.  
\- Your Majesty, I hope not to disturb. I wanted to introduce you to someone. These are Nicolaes Couckebacker, from Ketterdam, and his wife Adrielle. Nicolaes, our ruler Nikolai Lantsov.  
\- An extremely regal name, Your Majesty.  
\- Thanks, - Nikolai looked at Zoya as if to say "I told you so". - I've seen ships with your insignia several times on my travels, Mr. Couckebacker.  
\- I know that Your Majesty is a fan of navigation, I hope that in these days we will be able to find a moment to talk about our common interest.  
\- Of course. And Duke, I had heard a lot about the garden of this villa, but to see it... Any description does not do it justice.  
The Duke smiled and nodded modestly, but it was Duchess Ekatarina who answered.  
\- We are building a new part that we thought we could dedicate to you, Your Majesty. I'd like to ask you about your favorite flower.  
Nikolai started thinking. An alarm bell went off in Zoya's head, to stop immediately when a suddenly sober Nikolai replied: - Maybe snowdrops.  
\- Oh - the Duchess seemed surprised for a moment (and Zoya felt more and more dragged into a world with upside down rules, since the Duchess had laughed at the terrible toast a few hours before), but recovered quickly. - Forgive me but ... such a humble flower! You are full of surprises, Your Majesty. We have a corner in the garden where they grow spontaneously. Please follow me.  
Before Nikolai walked away, Zoya grabbed the sleeve of his overcoat.  
\- I beg you...  
\- Keep your prayers for the Sankti, commander, and leave this to me. We have only begun.  
  
SECOND DAY  
  
\- And what would _that_ be?  
Nikolai looked up from some papers with the Shu royal family seal and looked at a handwritten sheet Zoya had put on the table.  
\- If I can't stop you, at least I can hope to contain the damage. Tamar has selected three sentences from the book and a scene for the last day. Use those and go back to serious business.  
\- "A velvet as precious as your eyes"? "There is nothing better than a dinner made with your own hands"? Commander, my heart is broken, like a fragile glass from Ketterdam.  
\- They were the least bad.  
\- And the situation on the fourth day would be "when Terence returns from a horse race and meditates in silence near the fountain"?  
\- There are three fountains in the Duke’s garden, you are free to choose where to meditate.  
\- "In silence" is emphasized three times.  
\- My mistake. - Zoya got the paper back, took out a pen from her pocket and emphasized again the two words. Nikolai gave a theatrical sigh.  
\- Commander, would you ever ask a tiger to be locked in a cage and mewl meekly? Ocean to be contained in a bottle?  
\- A 5-year-old to act like a king? I'm starting to think it's not a good idea.  
Nikolai gave an even more theatrical sigh.  
\- I will keep your proposal in precious consideration – he folded the paper in four and slipped it under a pile of documents. - That, as the numerous letters that I receive from the Shu Han’s royal family teaches, together with "It seems very interesting" and "The ideas of Your Majesty are always enormously welcome", means "no".  
Zoya punched the table, turned and left the room.  
\- The door! - Nikolai's voice said. She made the door slam with a gust of wind.  
That evening's program included a children's choir. All the children in the neighborhood gathered and sung some traditional Ravka songs. The good king Nikolai Lantsov thanked the children and told them that "The Sankti left us three things: the stars, the flowers and the children. Seeing them all together makes a peace similar to snow descend into my heart."  
\- Would you like a drink, commander?  
Zoya accepted a full glass of Kvas that a valet was holding out to her. Then she thought about it and took another one. She drank them till the last drop.  
  
THIRD DAY  
  
The situation did not improve.  
The next day, Zoya discovered that Tamar and Tolya (and Genya by correspondence) had opened a bet in the bet to find out what would be the next sentence used by Nikolai. The bets on the final situation had already reached some respectable quotations. Tolya was betting on a scene that involved the theft of a jewel, the exchange of two babies, a triumphal break-in via crashing a chandelier’s support rope with a saber (for some reason it was very important that the saber was mother-of-pearl), everything in order to stop a wedding. Zoya had never been so happy that the Duke's oldest son was 12 years old.  
She was so nervous that, to have some peace of mind, she had to hid herself in the Duke’s private chapel. Now Zoya was there, wondering not really what she had done wrong in her life (she had an idea or two), but if there really was a divine justice and Nikolai was her punishment. Zoya turned to a statue of Sankta Elizaveta, with a bouquet of flowers in her hand, standing over a nameless tomb.  
\- All right, if divine punishments exist, then you could also do something holy and make him stop.  
\- If we asked ourselves less what the Sankti can do for us, and more what our hands can do for the world ...  
\- Another word and you’ll fly out of the window, Ni ...  
Zoya stopped abruptly, because the person behind her was not Nikolai, but the Bishop of Karilingrad. He was looking at her politely worried.  
\- "The mottos of Sankta Elizaveta". Are you a connoisseur of the _Stories of the Sankti_, commander Nazyalensky?  
\- No, but I’m not surprised that you can mistake them for a bad romance novel.  
\- Beg your pardon?  
\- Nothing, Bishop. I was thinking to myself.  
Zoya noticed that the Bishop had in his hand some wreaths and a small picture, with a very well-known face inside.  
\- Ah, yes. Commander Nazyalensky and his majesty Nikolai had the great honor of meeting Sankta Alina.  
\- Hours hard to forget.  
The Bishop placed the wreaths on the altar and the picture in an empty space on the wall.  
\- I don't have much authority to talk about it, but when I hear the terrible news about _jurda parem_ and how it makes grisha mad, I wonder if Sankta Alina would have resisted and what great power the _parem_ would have given her.  
\- Ah, she probably would have been able to lightly tan the people around her within a radius of about 100 meters.  
\- What, commander?  
\- Oh, again, nothing. I have this bizarre habit of pretending to speak alone when I say unpleasant things.  
The Bishop was thinking about how to respond, but at that moment the Duke, Duchess, Couckebacker and his wife, Tolya, Tamar and Nikolai came in. Nikolai was, of course, speaking: - ... and there she come, the spring, to write in the damp, with the fingers of a naughty child, the delirious alphabet of the time that returns. Commander Nazyalensky, I was telling Mr. Couckebacker about the first gems’ offering ceremony we will held tomorrow. Nothing as funny as the Komedie Brute or the Ketterdam carnival, but I hope our guests don't get too bored at our country parties. You see, Nicolaes, can I call you Nicolaes?, it's customary to have a young boy and a young girl symbolically duel, the girl disguised as Spring and the boy as Winter. Obviously, at the end of the duel, Spring is always the winner: Winter offers her his nude branches and she covers them with gems. Then we offer wreaths, eat and drink, as you expect from a good party.  
\- If I am not wrong, the offer of the first gems is made the day after the first full moon of the month. - Nicolaes Couckebacker was looking at the wreaths on the altar.  
\- Not here, the party always recurs on the same date, to ... remember. - Kristoff kissed the tips of his fingers as he approached the altar. - Your Majesty, I thank you again for offering one of your guards to fight against our champion.  
\- My pleasure. I still remember the excitement when it was my turn to duel against Spring at the palace. Commander Nazyalensky, have you ever participated in this festival?  
\- Not that I remember, Your Majesty.  
\- Oh, then I assure you, - Nikolai winked, - tomorrow we will have fun.  
  
FOURTH DAY  
  
The cold of dawn condensed people’s breath in little white clouds. A glade in the woods had been cleared of snow and decorated with ribbons and carpets. The nobles had already been served hot chocolate and Kvas, while some _squallers_ sent a warm breeze towards the stands.  
At the edge of the clearing, there was a still partially frozen pond. If Tamar or Tolya had not agreed to accidentally put Nikolai to sleep, as Zoya had begged them, she could arrange an accidental fall into the icy water.  
\- Zoya ... - Tamar pointed to the snow at her feet, which was rising in white whirlpools. Zoya clenched her fists and held her power.  
\- Let’s finish this and return home.  
\- We are almost certain that he will choose Chapter 4, "The Fortune Teller in the Woods", when a Suli fortune teller shows up at a picnic and reveals to Dorothy her future through visions. He may choose the Duchess, or Mrs. Couckebacker.  
Tamar was about to add other details, but one of the attendants exclaimed, facing the stands: "Ladies and gentlemen, Spring and Winter!  
The young warriors were a blond boy, from the Duke's personal guard, and one of Nikolai’s soldiers, the girl Nikolai spoke with the day of their arrival. They wore ceremonial helmet. The boy’s one was adorned with branches and white cotton, to imitate the snow-covered trees, the girl's was a crown of evergreens that concealed her face.  
Both bowed to the Duke.  
The Duke raised his hand.  
The two took guard.  
The Duke lowered his hand.  
The girl was technically stronger: she immediately attacked her opponent. The Winter deviated the trajectory of the spear, but the Spring had foreseen it and made him stumble by bringing the weapon back against his feet. The Winter felt but quickly got back on his feet, sweeping the ground with the spear in search of the opponent’s legs. The Spring easily dodged the blow, balanced herself on the opponent's spear and hit his left arm, making him lose his grip. Not wanting the duel to end too quickly, the Spring moved back. The Winter regained his grip on the spear and studied the moves of his opponent. He attacked with a diagonal hit from above, which made her back off a few steps. Spring let the Winter have a few more attacks, until the Duke waved his hand. At that point, with a blow to the side she destabilized him, then raised the spear and disarmed the Winter. The audience began to applaud, while the lights of the rising sun began to raise in the sky. The Winter got up and handed his crown of snow-covered branches to the Spring, who took it and approached the stands.  
Exactly at that moment, a flock of swans glided over the trees and into the pond.  
The last swan, the whitest, gently touched the girl's ceremonial helmet, making it fall to the ground, revealing a cascade of red hairs.  
Zoya immediately noticed that it was the same color as the Duchess's.  
The audience should have cheered, but the Duke stood up in silence. The Duchess, beside him, was as still as a statue.  
\- Introduce yourself, Spring.  
The girl bowed.  
\- My name is Liza, Duke Kristoff.  
\- Is your family from the capital?  
\- No, my lord, I'm not from ... I think my family comes from these lands, but I'm not sure. I grew up at the Zvëzdnyj orphanage.  
\- Were you brought in as a baby?  
\- No, I was three or four years old, I think. A hunter saved my life, I was lost in the forest. Perhaps I was abandoned because of poverty ... I only remember that I saw a wild swan and was chasing him... I also lost a shoe.  
Zoya noticed that the Duchess had grasped her coat over her heart.  
\- I chased the swan ... - the girl looked around, as if she had suddenly realized something, - ... in a place very similar to this.  
The Duchess pulled a green velvet pouch from under her cloak, and a little red shoe from the pouch. The Duke swallowed a lump and went on talking.  
\- And now, how old are you?  
\- Sixteen, my lord.  
\- My daughter disappeared right next to this place, thirteen years ago. It is no secret that my wife never gave up and is still looking for her today, and that many have taken advantage of this over the years, bringing poor trained girls to answer my questions. - The Duke turned to Nikolai. - Your Majesty, if this is a terrible joke...  
\- Duke, I would never make fun of a mother's pain. I dared to ask the Bishop for some news about your missing daughter, and he told me that there is a peculiarity in some members of the Kristoff family, a peculiarity that neither theft nor amnesia can erase. Duke, can I ask you to show your right arm?  
The Duke did not answer. He stared at Nikolai for a moment, then took off his jacket and began to unbutton the sleeve below. When he rolled it up to the elbow, everyone could see a dark birthmark, vaguely resembling a snowdrop.  
\- Ah!  
Everyone turned to Liza, who had a hand in front of her mouth and tears in her eyes.  
\- Liza, show your arm.  
Trembling, the girl also rolled up her sleeve, to reveal a birthmark very similar to that of the Duke.  
The Duchess cried, jumped over the parapet and ran to hug the girl.  
\- Elizaveta!  
The Duke also joined his wife. The public, after a moment of astonishment, began to exult and applaud.  
Nikolai discreetly walked away from the crowd. He leaned his back against one of the centuries-old pines that surrounded the clearing.  
Zoya was beside him, icy as the iciest ice.  
\- When I decided that Liza would accompany us as a member of my escort, I knew that her family lived near the palace, but not that she was Kristoff’s daughter. I was just hoping someone would recognize her. Then I started noticing things. The Duke is famous for having dedicated his garden to his children. Seven children, eight parts. The eighth, the one they offered to dedicate to me, seemed to grow wild. At that point I could think that one of the children was dead, but then in the chapel I saw the tomb with the Sankta Elizaveta’s statue. It’s next to the family's graves, but no name is written on it. I guess because they still hoped that the child was alive. They only decided to represent her name through the Sankta, and to make her hold not roses, which are usually the classic iconography of Sankta Elizaveta, but a bouquet of snowdrops, the flower that resembles the birthmark on the child’s arm. This is why the Duchess was shocked when we spoke about snowdrops. Add to this the bizarre tradition of celebrating the gems offer not the day after the first full moon, as usual, but on a fixed date. I unleashed Tolya and he discovered that the date marked the day Dukes' eldest daughter got lost in the woods, thirteen years ago. But I feel you have a question for me, commander: what about the swans? Right, thanks for asking. I am not an expert on migration and I could not foresee that a flock of swans would fly right into the pond near the tournament field. So, I gave a boost to luck: I fed the swans every day with bread and _jurda_, which I then also put on Elizaveta's helmet. Coming here I made sure to leave a trail of crumbs. I must say that the timing was perfect, such intelligent animals. Commander Nazyalensky, you are very pale, are you feeling well?  
A sudden gust of wind shook the whole forest, making the branches tremble and sweeping the snow in white whirlpools. When everybody recovered the cloaks or the carpets flown away, a voice cried:  
\- The king fell into the lake, help him!  
  
It was over.  
It was all over.  
For the Dukes, Nikolai would have been forever a kind of saint. He could have asked to attack the Darkling himself and they would have simply asked "with what weapon?".  
She _really_ needed to drink.  
\- Commander Nazyalensky, I was hoping to meet you before your departure.  
Adrielle Couckebacker had made her way through the banquet guests and sat next to her on the armchair, with two glasses of kvas. Zoya accepted the glass and the two made a toast.  
\- To Ravka.  
\- And to Ketterdam. Should we also say something significant, such as "to the peace and prosperity of our lands"?  
\- Peace brings always good deals.  
\- If you say this kind of things I feel almost at home, commander. Be it, to peace and its economic advantages. Oh ... - Arielle took a sip of kvas before adding. - ... and to _Fiery and Passionate Wind under the Magnolias_.  
Zoya stood motionless with the glass in her hand.  
\- "Agnitions & Swans", one of my favorite chapters. You know commander, I don't ...  
\- No, no, forgive me, madam. I believe that to face the next conversation I need something stronger than the kvas.  
Arielle laughed and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, took a metal flask from her garter, threw the kvas into a vase of flowers and refilled both glasses from the flask.  
\- "Distilled in Ketterdam from the sugar of the Southern Colonies. Sweet as sin and dry as a negotiation", Dorothy's father would say. It’s a pleasure to do business with Nikolai Lantsov. He knows what he says and offers some interesting projects. And, last but not least, how can anyone resist a man of refined literary tastes? On the first day I didn’t notice, on the contrary, I was ashamed when the first thing I thought about when I heard " I've seen ships with your insignia several times on my travels" was the moment when Terence first met Dorothy's father at a dance party. With that phrase he is making fun of him because, unbeknownst to everyone, he sometimes assumes the identity of the pirate Stormfox, and has in the past attacked the ships owned by Dorothy's father. Are you feeling well, commander?  
\- No. But please, continue.  
\- From the second day on, I recognized all the sentences. Alas, I fear I was the only one, despite the care taken by His Majesty to entertain their guests. Do you think it's possible to talk to him in private, after the party? I'd really like to know more about these underwater ships.  
\- Mrs. Couckebacker, allow me to pretend that I heard nothing but the last sentence. Nikolai Lantsov is already talking to your husband right now.  
\- Oh, dear Nicolaes. They will be talking about routes, islands... He is here to talk about navigation, I am here to talk about business. Did you know that Couckebacker is my surname? Do you know when the husband takes his wife's name in Ketterdam? I give you a clue, it's not for love.  
Zoya just nodded.  
\- Nikolai Lantsov will be ... he is a good ruler and will have my money. How much money, I will decide tonight, if it were possible to have that appointment.  
Zoya felt her chest invaded by a sensation that had left her for five days, a wonderful feeling of relief. She took a sip of the whiskey and replied:  
\- You will have it, ma'am. I have only one thing to ask in return.  
\- Of course, commander.  
\- Don't tell him you recognized _Passionate Wind_. Knowing that he was right would make the rest of my life impossible.  
Arielle laughed.  
\- If there is a woman it’s better not to have as an enemy it is you, commander. I will be silent as a tomb.  
  
\- So?   
\- So what?  
\- Was I or wasn't I right?  
\- Not even after three centuries will you manage to make me say that it was a good idea.  
\- Ah, my icy-hearted commander. Come on, since you are not giving me any rest, let's talk about the next commitments, the next voyages, the boring duties.  
\- We both drank too much at the banquet. We can wait until tomorrow.  
\- Tomorrow, commander Nazyalenski. What arrogance men have when they say "tomorrow", beings who are not even certain of their next breath.  
Nikolai put his hand against the wall, blocking Zoya between the wall and his body. His breath, like Zoya's, smelled of wine.  
\- I don't promise you tomorrow, commander, but tonight - Nikolai's lips were very close to her ear. - can be for us only.  
\- Your Majesty...  
\- Nikolai.  
\- Nikolai... - Zoya put her hand on his uniform, slowly running her fingers over the golden buttons. - Chapter 13, Terence tries to seduce Dorothy, while the evil count has already sent a letter to Kerch to have her disinherited in favor of an impostor.  
Nikolai's eyes showed surprise for a moment, then he pulled away from the wall and laughed.  
\- The disciple surpassed the teacher! Great job, commander.  
\- My duty, Your Majesty.  
\- ... and thank you for your pledge, it was a pleasure to win this bet.  
\- My...?  
Nikolai held a single raven-dark hair between two fingers. He smiled, and Zoya couldn't help but laugh.  
\- I need to clean my uniform better. Keep it, a bet is a bet, after all.  
Zoya walked off down the corridor and down the spiral staircase to her room, leaving Nikolai pensive. - Wait, you ...  
Halfway up the stairs came an exultant voice.  
\- You recognized the quote, you read it, _you read it too_!  
Zoya paused for a moment, smiled and said in a low voice: - Good night, Nikolai.  
That night, the monster reappeared.  



End file.
